


Unlock the Darkness

by katzaren



Series: Love Notes [4]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Canon Divergent, Dark Josie, F/F, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23132503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katzaren/pseuds/katzaren
Summary: Josie unlocks her dark side to help deal with a problem with Raf, but Dark Josie gets distracted by her growing feelings for Hope. Meanwhile Hope knows she should be focused on defeating Malivore. If only she could turn off her confusing feelings for Josie and her dark side...
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Series: Love Notes [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1625962
Comments: 10
Kudos: 141





	Unlock the Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Dark Josie starts pursuing Hope into dating her, but Hope is confused, because while she crushed on normal Josie she always thought her crush was unrequited, dark Josie proves that wrong. In the best way possible.

The air was tense in the Stefan Salvatore library. Dorian was frantically flipping through pages in a book while Emma leaned her head on his shoulder, exhausted. Alaric was pacing, worrying a hand through his greying hair. Josie watched her father, biting her lip. It was Alaric’s serious expression that revealed just how dangerous the situation was.

“I can’t believe Raf would do that,” Josie said. She was sitting with Lizzie, Hope, and Landon at a table in the center of the room. All of them had matching worried expressions on their faces.

“He’s not in his right mind,” Landon insisted. “Raf would never do something like that. Maybe he’s having trouble with his wolf mind again.” He looked to Hope. “He was still having trouble with loud sounds before all this. Maybe he just snapped.”

Hope sighed, leaning back in her chair. “In my experience, a wolf who snaps hurts or kills someone. They don’t go around a school manipulating people and causing chaos.”

Lizzie cut in. “The prophecy did say ‘the wolf among you has many faces.’ That could be Raf, right?”

No one said anything. They had all been thinking the same thing. If they were going to figure this out, they would need a way to discover if Raf was being influenced by magic, or if it was his werewolf side causing havoc.

Josie cleared her throat. “I have an idea, guys. But you’re not going to like it.” She looked down at her hands, fiddling with a bookmark she’d found on the table.

“What is it?” Hope asked, worry written across her face.

“My dad told me about what happened in the prison world. When I...when I went dark. Apparently I could tell what was wrong with Jade. That’s how I knew to turn her humanity back on. I don’t know how I did it, and I don’t even remember doing it…”

“And you could tell about the Malivore spell on your mind,” Alaric added. “You remembered how the magic felt and knew exactly how to remove it.”

Josie nodded. “Exactly. If anyone can find out what’s wrong with Raf, it’s me. Or well, the dark version of me.”

“But you don’t know how to access those powers,” Hope said. “It would be dangerous to try something you don’t know anything about.”

“I know. That’s why I’m not going to try. I want to unlock my dark side again and let her find out what’s going on with Raf. Last time all she did was help us. I think she would do it again.”

The room was quiet, and then everyone was talking at once, arguing about how that was a bad idea. Josie knew it was risky, but she was willing to give it a chance. Not just willing. She was ready, determined. This was the only way to find out the truth.

“It’s my decision, and we’re doing it,” she said loudly.

Lizzie and Landon looked shocked at her determination, but Hope nodded in understanding. She put a hand on Josie’s shoulder. “If you’re sure about this, then I know a spell that can help unlock the darkness.”

Josie nodded. “And I think, I think I need to absorb some dark magic from somewhere. Do we have any mystical artifacts?”

“We do,” Alaric said. “But are you sure about this, Josie? Sometimes when people go dark, there’s no coming back.”

“I know,” Josie said, taking a deep breath. “But if we let Raf continue or even if we manage to capture him, we may never get the answers we need. The Sphinx's prophecy has been coming true piece by piece. We need to find out if Raf is part of that prophecy.”

“I’ll go get the dark objects,” Alaric said. He gave Josie a worried smile before he left the room.

...

When they had everything they needed to unlock Josie’s dark side, Hope set up the candles in a circle and had Josie sit in the middle of it while Alaric placed the dark objects before her. 

Hope was nervous about doing the spell on Josie. It came with similar risks to the spell they’d used to unlock Raf’s memories when he’d shifted back too early on a full moon. The spell that might have caused his odd behaviour lately. Hope knew Josie was strong. She didn’t doubt she had the willpower to do this, but she feared it would be difficult to get the regular Josie back after they’d gotten their answers.

Or what if her dark side refused to help them? What if she had other plans? There were too many factors outside of their control. Hope wished that she could be the one to take the risk instead, but she didn’t have that kind of power. Or if she did, it would be too dangerous to try to unlock it.

“I’m ready,” Josie assured her.

Hope chanted the spell before she could change her mind. The ground shook and books toppled off the shelves. Josie grabbed onto the dark objects and threw her head back. Her eyes went fully black, sclera and all. Her hair twisted in a magical wind, the strands darkening to black, and purple and black veins appeared around her face and on her neck.

She collapsed to the floor, her head banging against the carpet. Hope ran to help her, but Lizzie held her back. They watched as Josie stood up and turned to look at them.

Her eyes weren’t pure black anymore, but they weren’t the friendly eyes of regular Josie. She tilted her head, staring at each of them in turn.

“That took longer than I was expecting. After you saw my power last time, I thought you would be eager to ask for my help again.” Her voice was cool, calm, and collected, no hint of fear or worry. Completely the opposite of the Josie they knew and loved.

“My brother Raf is in trouble,” Landon said.

Josie held up her hand. “Silence. Just because you were something special to Josie does not mean you are special to me. I want to talk to the tribrid. Alone.”

The others looked at Hope with worried expressions on their faces.

“It’s fine. I can handle her,” Hope assured them, but she knew they were more worried about Josie’s safety. If it came down to a fight, Hope had a good chance of winning. But that victory could cost Josie her life.

Josie huffed, lifting her hand and flicking it towards the door. The door swung open and everyone except Hope was flung out into the hallway. A moment later the door slammed shut.

Josie focused on Hope, those dark eyes intense. “You don’t need to explain the situation to me. I know what’s going on.”

“How?”

“Josie isn’t aware of what’s going on when I’m at the forefront, but I’m aware when she is. I’ve seen all she has experienced, read all her thoughts. I know things that you don’t.”

Hope was tempted to ask what she knew, but they had bigger problems right now. “Can you find out what’s going on with Raf?”

“Of course, but you already know that. You wouldn’t risk bringing me back if you doubted my abilities. I’ll find my way to the wolf, and then I’ll report my findings to you. If I can fix him, I will do so. That is what you want, isn’t it?”

Hope gave her a hesitant smile. “Yes, thank you for helping us.”

“I’m not doing it to help you.”

“I know. Frankly I don’t care who you’re doing it for. I’m just relieved you’re willing to do it.” She hoped Josie could see her sincerity. “Be careful,” she couldn’t help but add.

Josie tilted her head. “I have nothing to fear. It’s you who should be careful.” With that, she walked calmly out of the room, head held high, like a woman on a mission.

…

Hope paced in her dorm room, worried that she’d made a terrible mistake. What if Josie was lying about helping them? What if she had other plans for the black magic she’d absorbed? There were just so many ways this could go horribly wrong.

“Will you stop that?” Alyssa snapped at her. “You’re making me nervous just watching you.” She was sitting on her bed writing in a journal.

“Sorry, I’m just worried.”

Alyssa smirked. “Because of Josie?”

“Well, yeah. I let her take this huge risk, and if we never get her back, it’ll be all my fault.” Hope ran a hand through her hair and sat on the edge of her bed. She kicked her feet back and forth, unable to sit still.

Alyssa snapped her notebook shut and put it into her purse. “I’m going to see Jed. I can’t deal with all of this.” She gestured to Hope. “Toodles,” she said and left the room.

Hope sighed. She was glad that Alyssa was getting a second chance at the school, but that didn’t mean she liked rooming with her. She missed having her own space.

The door swung open.

“Did you change your mind already?” Hope asked.

But it wasn’t Alyssa at the door. It was Josie. Still with the black hair and the chilling eyes. She walked into the room and the door slammed behind her.

“I found out…” Josie’s voice trailed off as her eyes roved down Hope’s body.

Hope was wearing a tank top and shorts. Regular enough sleep clothes. She wasn’t sure why Josie would be staring at her. Unless… No way. This robotic version of Josie couldn’t be capable of real feelings.

Hope cleared her throat. “So, what did you find out?”

“Rafael is dead.”

Hope gasped. It felt like the air had been knocked out of her. “How? What happened?” She wasn’t sure if Josie found him like that, or if she’d killed him herself.

“He’s been dead for weeks. A monster has reanimated him. He is being used like a puppet to cause havoc around the school.”

“That sounds like The Necromancer. But no, we haven’t heard anything from him since he disappeared last year.”

“A surprise attack requires silence. I should check the others at this school. Be sure he has touched no one else.” Josie put a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, then threw her head back. The purple veins looked more prominent on her neck.

When she opened her eyes again, there was a hint of worry behind them. “There are others. None are your friends, but the numbers are growing. Some have been dead a week, some only a few days. You should lock down the campus, don’t let anyone else leave.”

Hope couldn’t believe this. The Necromancer had been killing people right under their noses this whole time. “Is there a way to restore them?”

“I might be able to restore one of them, but I would need more black magic. Do you have another mora miserium?”

“I don’t have one, but my aunt Freya would be able to get one.”

Josie nodded. “Have her send one here with a vampire.”

“What will we do once we have the sandclock?”

Josie tilted her head. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re going to do a whole lot of black magic to fill it up. And then we’re going to break it.”

Hope bit her lip. She didn’t like this plan at all. There were so many ways it could go wrong. What if the sandclock turned her dark too? She would be a whole lot more dangerous than Josie with that kind of power. Then again, maybe that was what they needed to defeat the Necromancer. And it was the only way to get Raf back.

“Okay,” Hope said.

She called her aunt and made the arrangements for the mora miserium to be delivered to the school while Josie went to instruct Alaric to lock down the school. They quarantined the dead students in the werewolf transition space, but they knew that wouldn’t last long.

At least for now they had them all in one place and could inform their parents of the sad news. Alaric and Dorian handled the difficult phone calls while Landon and Wade planned a memorial service for the students.

Hope didn’t like that they were making it clear to the Necromancer that they knew what he was up to. It would be better if he thought he had the upper hand, but they couldn’t risk letting the mind-controlled students walk around the school. Who knows what they would do?

Emma was able to read through some of their memories and discovered that the dead students had led others off campus to be killed. Hope was certain they made the right call then, but she was still worried that the cell wouldn’t hold them for long.

…

Late at night Hope was working on her homework when Lizzie burst through her door looking absolutely livid.

“What’s wrong?” Hope asked.

“I’m sorry, Hope, but I cannot deal with this anymore. Josie, or whatever that thing is inside of her, is creeping me the hell out. She sleeps with her eyes open, like a snake, and they turn completely black. She barely talks to me, and honestly it’s just too difficult to watch that thing wearing my sister’s face. You take dark Josie, and I’ll deal with Alyssa Chang.”

Hope blinked at her in surprise. “You want to switch roommates?”

“At least temporarily.” Lizzie crossed her arms. “Please, Hope. You’re the only other person she could stay with. She wouldn’t be able to harm you even if she wanted to.”

Hope smiled. She loved that she had a reputation for being untouchable. “Okay, fine. But you’ve got to go tell Alyssa about the plan. She should be in Jed’s room.”

The disgust on Lizzie’s face was hilarious, but Hope managed to stifle her laughter. Lizzie rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine. I’ll go let her know. But this is getting sorted tonight. I’m not spending another night with Josie’s dark side.”

She pivoted on her heel and headed down the hallway without closing the door.

Hope got up, sighing, and pulled the door closed. She didn’t much like the idea of staying with Josie right now either, but she still felt like this whole mess was her fault. She was the one who brought dark Josie back anyways. It was her responsibility to deal with her.

Minutes later an angry Alyssa arrived to pack up most of her belongings into a suitcase. “I’ll get the rest of it later,” she grumbled, glaring.

“I’m sorry,” Hope said.

“It’s not your fault. It’s Lizzie for being such a baby. God, it’s her own sister. Can’t she just put up with her?”

Hope shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s difficult to see her like that because she’s her sister.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes, flicking her smooth black hair over her shoulder. “Whatever. See you in a couple weeks, or however long this ‘saving the world’ thing takes.”

Josie appeared at the door, and Alyssa about jumped out of her skin. She hurried around her, clearly trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Hi,” Hope said to her.

Josie walked into the room, pulling a suitcase behind her. “Lizzie packed up my stuff for me. She didn’t do it to be nice though. She just wanted me out of there. It’s understandable. I know I can be unnerving.”

“It’s just because she misses her sister,” Hope assured her, not really sure why she was trying to comfort Josie. Was she even upset or just stating facts? It was so hard to tell with her stoic demeanor.

Josie set down her suitcase next to the bed and started unpacking the clothes into the dresser. When she was done, she sat down on the edge of the bed. She looked tired, but maybe that was just because she was so pale. Those prominent veins made her look a little sickly too.

“Are you feeling okay?” Hope asked.

Josie’s gaze settled on her, harsh and unnerving, but she detected a hint of surprise. “It doesn’t matter how I feel. I want Lizzie to be comfortable. Instead I should be asking how you feel about this arrangement. Do you also find it difficult to look at me?”

“No, of course not,” Hope said, and she genuinely meant it. Josie’s dark side was a little unnerving, but she still had a lot of heart. She could see it clearly now. This version of Josie just had a blunt way of doing things, but she was still just as kind as Josie, even if no one else seemed to notice it.

“So you don’t mind that I’m here?”

Hope smiled, wide and unfiltered. “I don’t mind at all. You’re here to help us save Raf. I’m happy to have your help.”

Josie nodded. “Good. You’re a beautiful person, Hope.”

Startled, Hope tried to hide her blush. She was not expecting a compliment like that. And she could tell that Josie didn’t just mean her appearance. She was looking inside Hope, and she liked what she saw.

“So, um, Lizzie says you sleep with your eyes open. Is there a reason for that?”

Josie looked at her again like it should be obvious. “If there’s danger, I want to see it right away. It would not be wise to blind myself for hours while my body rejuvenates itself.”

“Oh.” It did make sense, in a way. “Isn’t that uncomfortable though?”

“No. Would it be uncomfortable for you to watch me sleep that way?”

“I don’t think so,” Hope said.

“You can sleep with your back to me if it bothers me.”

Even though Hope was sure it wouldn’t bother her, she didn’t like the feeling of being watched. It was hard to tell whether Josie was asleep or not. Hope shifted in the bed, putting her back to her. Josie had said it was okay, so hopefully she wouldn’t get offended.

...

In the morning Hope awoke to warm arms wrapped around her. She shifted in the bed and nearly jumped when she saw Josie’s black eyes staring at her. Or maybe she wasn’t staring. Maybe she was still asleep. Either way Josie was in her bed.

Hope shook her shoulder. “Hey, it’s time to get up.”

Josie blinked and the black eyes went away. Her eyes returned to their normal brown, and she smiled at Hope. For a moment, Hope thought regular Josie had returned to her, but the hair was still black and those veins still branched into her pale face.

“Good morning, Hope. Did you sleep well?”

“I did, but—”

“You were tossing and turning in the night, so I thought I would help you sleep. It worked.”

Hope sat up in the bed, confused. Her heart was racing the same way it did for regular Josie. Was it just because they shared the same body? Hope got out of the bed and grabbed her hair brush. She brushed her hair while she tried to get her mind to focus on other thoughts. Her aunt had called yesterday and let her know that her vampire friend would be bringing the mora miserium tomorrow.

They would need to watch out for the arrival and make sure the vampire didn’t get intercepted by the Necromancer. The sandclock was their best chance of restoring Raf to life.

Alaric hadn’t wanted to take any chances with the other students who had been killed. Lizzie had siphoned the magic out of them that the Necromancer was using to control them. After that, they became dead bodies again. Their bodies were burned so the Necromancer wouldn’t be able to manipulate them anymore or resurrect them as zombies.

Now only Raf remained in the werewolf transition cell. Every time Hope checked on him, he begged to be released, but she couldn’t let that happen. Who knows what the Necromancer would make him do?

They just had to hold him long enough for Josie to work the spell with black magic from the sandclock. The burst of power from breaking it would be enough to bring Raf back to life for good and break the Necromancer’s hold on him.

“Did I do something to upset you?” Josie asked in that deadpan voice.

Hope shivered a little, but she wasn’t afraid. A part of her thought Josie’s voice was kind of sexy like this.  _ Stop, Hope. Stop. Get a grip. _

Hope put on her best smile. “No, everything’s fine.”

“You’re lying to me. You’re uncomfortable that I got into bed with you. Do you not like me, Hope?”

“No, it’s not that. I just—I was just surprised by it, that’s all.”

Josie nodded, seeming to deem that her explanation was reasonable. “That was unusual.” She put a hand to her chest. “I felt deeply uneasy. I’ll need some time to figure this out.” She walked out of the room, leaving Hope to catch her breath.

It almost seemed like Josie’s dark side had a crush on her. But that was silly. Josie herself didn’t like Hope anymore. There’s no reason another version of her should. Hope had harbored these unrequited feelings for Josie for months, ever since she got back from Malivore, but when it had come down to a choice, Josie had chosen Landon over her. And then Landon had chosen Hope.

So none of them had ended up together after that mess. Hope couldn’t date Landon while her feelings for Josie were still strong, and Josie couldn’t date Landon after his subconscious had admitted he preferred Hope. Landon had been flirting with the new girl, Wendy, so at least it looked like things were looking up for him.

Hope was just stuck with this dumb unrequited crush. Well, that didn’t matter now. First things first, saving Raf.

She looked at herself in the mirror, surprised at how the dark circles under her eyes had gone away. She looked more awake than she had in months. Maybe Josie’s magic had worked after all. If that spell meant cuddling up with Josie every night, maybe it was something to consider letting her do again…


End file.
